Magnitone Lucid Review

I was yearning to purchase a facial cleansing brush for almost a year after reading rave reviews about the clarisonic and the magnitone lucid, I decided to invest in the magnitone lucid when on offer at boots for £50 instead of £70.

Magnitone Lucid

I ordered the blue as the green was sold out. It's a really nice shade, kind of an electric blue. The magnitone is simple to use, and the charger is a magnet you attach to the part you hold whilst using. The charge does last long, I have only charged mine 2 or 3 times! I have quite small hands so the size is perfect for me. It only comes with one brush which is rather miserly. It should come with a spare!

The website promises that it "unclog pores, and sweep away dry and dead skin cells, leaving a clearer complexion"and "softer, brighter, clearer skin".

Reviews read: "Leaves skin feeling lovely and clean"; "skin feels firmer"; "My skin is more radiant and even toned".

I really wished this to be the case for me, but it wasn't. I have had the magnitone for over 3 months (I gave an extra couple of weeks on the magnitone 7 day challenge stated in their advertising) and now and have not noticed any difference whatsoever! My muslin cloth does a better job at making my skin feel clean and polished and that only cost a couple of quid.

Save your money ladies. I only give this a 1/5.

Turkish Food Stoke Newington

Aziziye: Stoke Newington


I went here about a week ago with family. We usually sit in the small 'caves' aka private floor seating rooms but they were all booked so we sat in the normal bit. We ordered 2 types of starters - börek (cheese pastry) & lahmacun (turkish flatbread 'pizza' with spicy ground lamb or beef). Yummy!

Cheese borek

  

Lahmacun and salad

For mains we kofte, iskender & a chicken hot pot thing which I think was called tavuk güveç or sote. The chicken iskender was DELICIOUS. Oh my, small boneless bite size marinated pieces of chicken with yogurt tomato sauce and bread. I also has a juice. The guvec/sote wasn't all that my mum said. The portions were HUGE. I ate half if mine and asked for a takeaway. Mum only ate half of hers too. Tip for next time: Order 3 meals for 4 people. Unless you're a sumo wrestler or have a bottomless pit.

Chicken Iskender

Lamb Iskinder with rice and cherry juice.

The toilets were modern and spotless - a bonus.


2 starters, 4 drinks & 4 mains for just under £60. Would have been nice to be offered mint tea or something at the end but we were full. Try this out guys. And go for a private 'cave' for extra authenticity.

ieatfood reviews - Halal ready meals at your local supermarket

Salam readers.

So I was in Sainsburys a few weeks ago and came across some halal ready meals. There was a dedicated section for these halal meals, which consisted of ieatfoods and mumtaz curries. These meals are perfect for iftar if you are too tired to cook as they taste home made or even to take as lunch for work. I will be reviewing 3 products from the ieatfoods range.

range of meals from ieatfood in Sainsbury's

First up was the spicy beef pizza. I found the product matched the picture, the title lived up to it's name - it was beefy and spicy! As the crust part was a bit big for my liking, I added extra cheese, cherry tomatoes and small pineapple chunks to the pizza before placing in the oven. I can honestly say it is one of the best pizzas I've tasted! So much so that I made a homemade version a few weeks later lol. This pizza deserves a 9/10.

ieatfood halal spicy beef pizza

What ieatfood spicy beef pizza looks like out of the box. I added extra toppings as I don't like the edges to have too much crust.

Fresh out of the oven with added toppings and cheese. ieatfood spicy beef pizza

Next up is the spaghetti bolognese. It comes in a black mocriwaveable plastic dish with a sleeve describing the product and nutritional information. The product is about 700grams so easily feeds 2 however, you may need to boil up some extra pasta. There is plenty of meat and sauce with carrot cubes. I found this product to be standard. It was nothing to write home about. So for this reason I will award it 5/10.

ieatfood spaghetti bolognese on the left.

Next up is the Pesto chicken tagliatelle. Descried on the sleeve as "delicious tagliatelle pasta topped with succulent british chicken breast chunks and a creamy fresh basil pesto sauce."

This product comes in at around 400 grams and is over 700 calories per person, but you can share it (if you feel inclined). I've never had creamy pasta sauce before, so this was something new for me. I saw this product being reviewed on Islam Channels Living the Life for which it got good feedback from the presenters. I can say I agree. The sauce was plentiful, it was creamy and the pesto gave it an edge. The chicken was well cooked and there was a good ratio of chicken to pasta. It didn't have that stodgy bechamel feel or taste that many ready meals have. I've been back a few times to re-purchase this item but it is always out of stock which I guess is testimony to how popular it is. I will give this meal a 7.5/10.

ieatfood pesto chicken tagliatelle.

Delicious! ieatfood pesto chicken tagliatelle

So all in all the pizza is the clear winner followed by the pesto chicken tagliatelle.
Have you tried the ieatfood range yet? What's your favourite meal?

Review: Abu Zaad Shepherds Bush

Abu Zaad restaurant Shepherds Bush exterior

Nestled amongst the variety of stores surrounding Uxbridge Road/Shepherds Bush Market station we found Abu Zaad and decided to try this Syrian restaurant one Saturday afternoon.

Inside it was quiet and as we sat down, the waiter/owner bought us our menus. Once we were ready to order he asked whether it’s our first time to which we replied yes, we’ve come from the other side of London. He was genuinely happy and asked how we came across the restaurant. We ordered drinks – one mint tea and one fresh tropical juice. The juice was made fresh to order, nice and thick. Cooling for the warm day. The mint tea was lovely and refreshing.

Refreshing mint tea and tropical juice - note the fresh pink rose

We ordered an aubergine kebab and a shish taouk which come with either rice or chips plus salad. We chose one rice and one chips. When they arrived woah, the portions were colossal! The cubed aubergines were grilled and fluffy on the inside and the kebab was well flavoured. The rice was seasoned, not bland as it had been cooked with meat stock and contained pieces of vermicelli. The chicken was soft and well cooked. We also got 3 types of sauces - mayo, chilli sauce and ketchup. The only downside would be that the chips were a tad oily. None the less, an enjoyable meal. One that couldn’t be finished.

Scrumptious cubes of aubergine which were soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside with seasoned lamb kebabs, chips, salad and khobez

Shish taouk, rice with slivers of vermicielli, salad andkhobez/nan

Upon leaving the waiter was kind to offer us something on the house as a warm gesture of us coming from the other side of town. We were offered a pot of mint tea and baklawa. Awww.

Pot of mint tea and some pistachio baklawa

Pouring the tea into the cups :)

It was a really nice experience and there are obviously many loyal customers as could be seen when a family arrived to a warm welcome and had a chat with the workers when collecting their take away. The only thing I would think twice about is what I order/if I can finish it! Abu Zaad you were lovely!! 9/10.

Final parting treat :P mini chocolate

Delight Kebab in Wood Green

Last week, whilst shopping in Wood Green we came across Delight Kebab at the end of the main Wood Green shopping road, opposite Wood Green Station. They clearly have a halal certificate displayed on their window. We originally wanted to try Gokyuzu & Kervan, also a Turkish place with good reviews, but there was no halal sign displayed like all the other Turkish eateries.

We were quickly welcomed by the waitress and called her over to place our order. Complimentary hummus, cacik, chili sauce, a plate of fresh salad and bread was served – no need to order starters! The food was made fresh to order which meant a wait of 15 minutes.

Cacik, hummus, herb & garlic yogurt and chilli sauce

I ordered the Yogurtlu adana which is kofta served on Turkish bread with special tomato sauce and yogurt, as well as a sour cherry juice and my sister ordered the chicken shish with rice. The portions were huge, the juice came in a big glass too. We were also given a complimentary Kemalpasa, which can be likened to the Asian ladoo.

Yogurtlu adana - Adana kebab with sauce, grilled onions, yogurt and toasted pitta pieces drizzled with butter.

Chicken shish served with grilled onions, rice and salad

I would definitely recommend this place, and will be going again. The service and prices were really good. 2 mains and a drink cost £16.90.

Kemal pasa sweet

Halal Food Festival review (London)

Salam lovelies.
I went to the Halal Food Festival yesterday Saturday 28th September.

Halal Food Festival London 2013 guide/wristband

I was soo excited especially with all the hype and advertisements. I imagined it to have a vast array of delicious multicultural foods and products. I regularly visited the site to check on the list of exhibitors and all looked promising. Being the organised person I am, I made a list of stalls I wished to visit -around 12 in total. Of those, 4 were not there!! One of them was completely empty (Bobo Macarons) and Exotic Tagine was replaced with something else. An Indian affair wasn't there either.

People were crowded around for free samples which some stalls offered such as chocolate samosas, Malaysian pancakes, cheese and so on. Some sampling visitors wouldn't budge an inch. With that in mind plus the crowds as it was a small space, it was hard to see everything on offer.

Source

I also received a £5 voucher for Sisters Magazine which stated it was no strings attached. But indeed upon visiting the stand it became clear that you were expected to sign up for a subscription before being given a free (old) copy of their magazine with the voucher.
There were non food items such as itr, books, scarves and clothing.

I did purchase some vegetarian sweets from goody good stuff, a scoop of pistachio ice cream, a falafel wrap and a pack of chocolate & nut samosas which I am yet to sample!
All in all, I would give the event a 5/10. They should maybe cut down the number of days to two and work on hiring a larger space and more stalls. I liked the demo classes they held where you can watch chefs prepare different dishes. When we got there it was quails that were being made.

Bhangra Burger Stall

Falafel Wrap

Pistachio Ice cream

Were any of you guys there and what did you make of it?

Falsh lashes in a bottle! Divaderme Lash Extender review

I recently purchased Divaderme Lash Extender after hearing about it from groupon. I did some research and found that it is a tube of brush on fibres designed to go on wet lashes (i.e. that have just been applied with mascara) which they cling onto. This is then sealed with another coat of mascara creating a false lash effect.

Divaderme lash extender

I used an Avon mascara with this and they recommend that you use a "wet" mascara so that the fibres can cling on easily. A tip I found for getting waxy mascaras to become runny again is to put your tube of mascara in a basin of hot water for a few minutes.

Once you have applied a coat of mascara, immediately apply the fibres to your lashes...you can concentrate on the roots for volume or ends for length. It's best to have the lash extender tube already opened and the wand on a piece of tissue so it's ready to use straight upon applying mascara. To avoid fall out, place a  piece of tissue under your eye area and LOOK DOWN! You don't want to get fibres in your eyes (although, you can easily blink them out).
After you have applied the fibres, put on one more coat of mascara to seal the fibres in place. Then repeat with next set of eyelashes.

I found that if you apply many coats of mascara in between applying the fibres, then you can end up with spidery eyelashes, so it's best not to go overboard with the mascara or use a separating mascara.
You do end up with longer lashes so I would definitley recommend this product as it is cheap and can bring out the shortest of lashes and makes good use for any mascaras that you have lying around that you don't really use/feel is not that good.
I did experience a bit of fall out, but then again I did use a mascara that wasn't runny so maybe that was why. You can just brush them away anyway.

Here are my pictures just for you!

Bare lashes before Divadereme lash extender and any mascara

Lashes after Divaderme lash extender applied in between coats of mascara

Before (right) and after (left) Divaderme lash extender

Eid in the Square: 17th August 2013 (Review + Pics)

This Saturday just gone, I attended an Eid celebration in Trafalgar Square. There was a stage with a variety of guests and performers such as Adam Ali, Saif Adam and Darren Cheesman and a few others.

Stalls were also set up selling food from different cultures, they had Turkish Delight, Baklava, Koshari, smoothies, waffles, chicken satay, biryani etc. Huge crowds surrounded the food stalls, so it was a bit difficult to see everything that was on offer.
Having never tried Malaysian food before, we decided to go for the chicken satay (see pic below) which came with peanut sauce and (plain boiled) rice cubes. Although the flavour and seasoning of the chicken and peanut sauce was delicious, some parts of the chicken were pink so we didn't get to finish the dish. However, there was quite a bit of a crowd so they must have rushed to make the food and I'm sure if you were to go the their restaurant, they would ensure the food is cooked through properly.

As well as food stalls, there were stands selling Islamic books, costume jewellery, party handbags and itr.
Here are some pictures of the event:

Stage

Crowds of people and food stalls

Fountain

Costume Jewellery

Chicken satay with peanut sauce and rice cubes from Nur Muhammad stall

I purchased this lovely smelling purse/pocket spray

Cute illustrated children's book of stories from the Qur'an

Mr.Falafel

So me and my sister went to Shepherds Bush Market last weekend and decided to try Mr Falafel as we heard good things. We got there just before midday so it was empty and took a seat. The man behind the counter was so friendly and smiley. I ordered a number 9: Supreme falafel wrap which comes with avacado and feta. My sister ordered number 11: Falafel and Halloumi cheese wrap.

What the shop looks like from outside. This was taken of a picture on the wall inside the shop.

It arrived pretty quickly, wrapped up neatly thus making it easy to eat. In addition to the falafel there was so much more going on inside the wrap – tomatoes, pickles, hummus, cabbage. The only downside is that I would prefer the halloumi to have been grilled (can’t resist some grilled squeaky halloumi) and the chilli sauce more spicy.

The menu is straight forward, they only do falafel wraps and platters and a small selection of drinks. Next time I think I’ll get a batata harra wrap mmm.

When paying the elderly man (also very friendly) gave me £10 back from £20 when he should have given less, nevertheless, we gave the remainder and left with a huge smile at the generous hospitality and friendly smiles.

Meal 9: Supreme falafel wrap with hummus, tomatoes, fried aubergine, feta, avocado, olives and pomegranate syrup.

Vitality Show 2013

Hi, just a quick post about the Vitality show that took place in Earl's Court March 2013!

The show took place over 4 days and we went on the weekend. The guy who took our tickets (Spencer Matthews from Made in Chelsea look-a-like) was kinda rude and when we first walked in, we couldn't see any fellow hijabis :( but saw 6-7 later on. The majority of the people there were 30+.

There were workshops where you could do yoga workouts or listen to talks and lots of different stalls for beauty, food and well being etc. They even had a few stalls selling hijabs (but you can get them for half or a third of the price elsewhere).

They gave out free goody bags with random items if you filled in a form:

It consisted of:

• Sakata Japanese rice crackers in sour cream and chive

• Loreal shampoo and conditioner sample

• Belvita yogurt crunch

• Sprite 
• Nivea Pure & Natural sample

• Sudocream sample

• Hermesetas sweetener pack

• Tate & Lyle Half spoon 20g :S

• 2 Coffee sachets

Vitality Show goody bag.

A different flavour in the Vitality show goody bag that my sis got- Roast tomato and balsamic.

They had a lovely stall selling bath products which reminded me of Lush. One of their displays was set out like a vintage tea party/cake stand. SO cute! Its called BOMB Cosmetics and their products are "natural and home made".

Bath time tea party?

Bath melts. Look like cupcakes right?

Scrubs and polishes

Other stalls included nail/brow bars, vegan cakes and breads, bakhour/oud, olives and baklava, Samina pure make up, teeth whitening, diary free "milk", jewellery, healthy snacks, you could also get your BMI tested and have a go on this exercise machine that vibrates your legs.

They also had a tooth whitening stall which I shall write about another day Insha Allah.

Did any of you go? Would you go in the future?

Jungle Braai Review

If you haven't tried South African style BBQ cooking, Jungle Braai is a good place to start.

We were there during lunch so had the chicken skewers meal. this consisted of 2 skewers of chicken and vegetables marinated in a delicious finger licking braai sauce. It comes with salad and tortilla wrap and you get a choice of side (the steak chips were crispy on the outside and soft inside) and drink too. The food was made fresh and was very tasty. The service was also fantastic.

 Yummy Jungle Braai Chicken Skewers

Freebies (3) Benefit InStyle Mag + Eid Souk 2012

As-salaamu alaykum readers!

This seemed too good an offer for me not to post - The November issue of Instyle magazine (featuring Naomi Harris) contains a free Benefit gift. You can choose from Sunbeam, a golden bronze complexion highlighter; Cha Cha Tint, (mango tinted lip and cheek stain) or; Benetint; (original rose-tinted stain).

This offer is not to be missed if you are make up junkies/benefit fans as for £3.80 or £2.50 from Tesco, you can get a deluxe 4ml sized version of these products which would otherwise cost between £8-10 each for this size or between £18.50-£24.50 for the full size which is 12.5ml-13ml. Do the math!
I have managed to get the Cha Cha Tint and Benetint, but not seen Sunbeam yet.

Review of Benefit Cha Cha Tint:
The cha cha tint is a peach/coral shade which is flattering on warm skin tones.  It can be worn under or over foundation and you can build up the colour. It doesn't dry too quickly so you don't have to rush madly to blend it once it's on your skin. I would recommend it to anyone.

Free 4ml size Benefit Benetint, Cha cha tinit or Sunbeam in November 2012 issue of Instyle Magazine.

Oh yeah, before I forget, I attended the Eid Souk 2012 held in Waterlily banqueting suite in E1. Errm, it wasn't as good as last year namely because the suite wasn't being enough/there weren't as many stalls as last year which was held in Tobacco Docks (Wapping). There was nothing new on offer and you were lucky to get a look in as it was a little cramped. Anyhoo, that's my view on it. Don't know if anyone else went and what they made of it? Do let me know.

Regents Park Mosque Post Eid Family Fun Day

Salaam! Hope you all had a magnificent Eid.

Just got back from RPM's Fun Day and it was packed! (Not surprising, the weather was good).

Entrance was free and there were many stalls, mainly catering for us ladies and some for children too. You could pick up hijabs, abayas, long skirts, maxi dresses, kaftans, shalwar kameez, hijab accessories, perfume, rings etc. There were toys, activities and cakes/sweetsfor kids (and adults!) too. They had stalls in the courtyard as well as inside. The event lasted from 11am-8pm. They were supposed to have calligraphy learning sessions according to the poster, but I never saw that :(

I ended up purchasing one hijaab, and homemade chocolate cake and mango/cream milkshake from Moreish drinks (don't have a website). I also got a henna design done on my hand for £5!

Henna from Regents Park Mosque Fun Day 2012 (By Fiza Mehndi)

The lady who did the henna had a banner which said Fiza Mendhi and this is the website I found when I googled it. It says she is "currently the world's fastest henna artist", don't know if that is still valid, but it took just over 5 mins for her to do this design - it would take me like 1 hour + haha!

All in all it was a good family day out.